


chasing magic

by Growlithe



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bartenders, Casinos, Cheesy romance, Crush at First Sight, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff and Smut, Jealousy, M/M, Magicians, Nagisa Schemes, Rei is Fabulous, Rei is Flustered, top!Nagisa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-12
Updated: 2014-05-27
Packaged: 2018-01-24 10:06:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1600976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Growlithe/pseuds/Growlithe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[AU] Nagisa might just have a huge crush on Rei, the mysterious magician that performs at his casino every Saturday and even if they've never spoken before, even if Rei has no interest in making friends, Nagisa is determined to get his attention somehow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. chasing

**Author's Note:**

> A silly fanfic based on that one [official art](http://24.media.tumblr.com/536ea64c5ffa8a1d3c0e3239827e7c74/tumblr_mxt58jokTP1ss5t3io1_1280.jpg). Warnings for lack of honorifics, cheesy romance and shameless smut.
> 
> I normally don't post things in parts but I've been thinking about these two ALL DAY and I just had to share something.

It all starts when Nagisa’s boss rudely cuts off the last fifteen minutes of his break and drags him into his office before he can swallow his mouthful of food. As soon as Nagisa flops down into a chair, Goro leans in close and hisses, _“I know”_ which is great for _him_ but Nagisa has no idea what he’s talking about. He never takes his boss seriously (as a rule, Nagisa doesn’t take anyone who wears Hawaiian shirts under suit jackets seriously) but the smile drops from his face when Goro accuses him of losing the casino money.

Apparently people are getting lucky at the table where Nagisa deals _way_ more often than they should and there’s a statistical machine in a top secret security room with a big red flashing light and for some reason that’s all Nagisa’s fault.

“How can you think I’m a cheat?” Nagisa asks, clutching one hand across his chest. “This is just a weird coincidence! Sure, I like to see nice people win but I wouldn't - I’m just really lucky, okay? I'm a natural good luck charm!” Maybe he should stop resorting to puppy-dog eyes now that he’s in his twenties but nothing else works as well.

He’s worked at the fancy hotel for over a year in the huge gambling room that opened up just after casinos were legalised in Japan. It wasn’t what he’d planned to do after graduation, he just fell into it because he happened to know a lot about gambling. (There was no one to start a swim club with in high school so he started betting on other kid’s snacks on the school roof because he was bored and hungry. Anyone else would do the same!) He’d moved to Tokyo to follow his dreams or mostly because his rich classmate Nao had a spare room and moving far away from his annoying sisters had sounded like a great idea. He’d stumbled across the flashy tourist trap and used his high school experience to charm his way into a job and met his best friends, the friends he'd always wished for in school.

Now his job is exciting and the customers love him and he’s great at it, he's definitely not a cheat. He needs his job and he's not too ashamed to beg to keep it.

Begging almost works. He’s shunned to a month working in the basement. Nagisa didn’t even know they had a basement but Goro slides a leaflet across the table detailing the thrilling live performances happening down there every night.

Everyone knows that upstairs is where the fun happens so Nagisa tries everything he can think of.

He gasps, “someone’s setting me up!”  
He yells, “you’re wasting my talent!”  
He sobs, “you’re discriminating against me because I’m small!”

“You’re lucky I’m not sending you to work with the cleaners,” Goro says, leaning back and lighting a cigarette. “You’re on the bar until further notice.”

Nagisa’s about to call Goro stupid because he’s never worked on a bar in his life and then he remembers that he _might_ have mentioned his amazing bartending skills on his job application (at the time making drinks for friends at parties had seemed like really relevant experience, honest).

The conversation ends there. Nagisa rushes out of the office to say a dramatic goodbye to his friends. He’s really going to miss the overly bright lights, the shrieks and cheers, the clatters of coins, the endless _cha-chings,_ even the awful instrumental CD that plays on a loop again and again.

“We really won’t see you for a whole month, Nagisa?” Makoto asks, looking miserable.

Nagisa shakes his head sadly. “You might never see me again! It’s all over for me. Maybe we’ll all meet again… someday.”

With a sad flick of his hair, he accepts his cruel fate and trudges towards the door.

Then he turns back and shouts, “we’re still catching the same train home, right Mako?”

The basement is small and stale and gloomy with flickering lights and too many round tables crammed wherever they’ll fit. There’s a tiny bar at the back of the room and a big stage at the front. There’s a single customer, one lonely old man staring into his drink. The blonde girl who’s usually stuck down there is so happy she gets to work somewhere else for a month that she hurries through a list of instructions, kisses Nagisa’s cheek and skips up the stairs.

 

He spends his first week bored out of his mind, working alone in a half-empty room guessing his way through drink orders, watching amateur theatre groups perform and bopping his head along to losing contestants from TV singing competitions. It’s so lonely and he misses sneaking over to the indoor water feature and pulling silly faces at Haru who works next to it.

Saturday changes everything.

That night every chair in the room is full. When the pre-recorded message announces the start of the “magical performance of the Spectacle Illusionist” Nagisa cracks up laughing. He’s expecting a ridiculous old magician in a battered top hat. He is so _so_ wrong.

His jaw drops at the man who appears from behind the heavy purple stage curtain into the smoke and the spotlights. He’s tall and serious and _completely_ gorgeous _,_ dressed in a sharp black suit and bright red glasses. There’s a white bird perched on his shoulder, his purple bowtie looks really cool and his hair is the nicest shade of blue, even better than the ocean on a summer’s day. Nagisa leans so far over the bar that he’s on his tiptoes.

Every move the man makes is precise and calculated, perfectly timed with the soft background music, so slow it’s almost sensual. When he speaks his voice is low and everyone in the room leans forward. He eyes scan the room and it’s tense and uncomfortable, like he has secrets on the tip of his tongue and he’s moments away from spilling them.  When he looks towards Nagisa, a jolt of electricity shoots down his spine.

The audience clap politely when he’s finished his introduction and Nagisa adds a loud “whoop!” The magician starts to perform and it’s dazzling, everything he does is mesmerising – Nagisa expected bad jokes and cheap party tricks (he _likes_ bad jokes and party tricks) but this show is on a whole other level, like the man is a genuine sorcerer or something. He makes a white bird disappear and steals Nagisa’s heart away with it.

When he remembers how to move, Nagisa dodges between the small candlelit tables using empty glass collection as an excuse to get closer to the stage. He’s feeling woozy with excitement and at least if he faints dramatically to the floor, there’s a slightly higher chance that the man on the stage will catch him if he lingers nearby.

 When the show finishes, Nagisa cheers the loudest, he’s spellbound, he _has_ to introduce himself. He’s tempted to chase after him the second he strides off the stage but people suddenly get interested in having another drink before they leave (Nagisa bites back a yell that there’s a _much_ nicer bar upstairs) so he’s forced to make small talk with customers.

When they’ve finally left, Nagisa spends ages racing around backstage. He looks everywhere he can think of but all he finds are dead ends and supply closets. He spends the rest of his shift exploring the spooky basement because if he doesn’t bump into an attractive magician, maybe he’ll get lucky and find a ghost.

**

He spends his Sunday off investigating the “Spectacle Illusionist” online, music turned up as loud as he can stand because silence is so boring and Nao is out _again_. All he finds are long articles about Psychology and suggestion and famous influences, nothing useful like the magician’s real name or where he lives. The only number listed is a phone line for show tickets – like _that’s_ any use to anyone.

Nagisa skim reads forums full of science-heavy speculations about how does his tricks and watches eight poor-quality videos of past performances and then he calls his friends, he _loves_ his friends, but they’re useless, they don’t know anything. None of them have birthdays coming up so Nagisa doesn’t have an excuse to use the booking form to hire the guy as a close-up magician at a private party.

He’s a mess of curiosity and frustration. It drives him _crazy_ when people keep secrets from him, like when Haru and Makoto share a hushed conversation and one of _those_ looks, except this is a thousand times worse because he can’t just bribe this information out of Mako with sad eyes and a pout. This magician guy is determined to be a total enigma, but luckily there’s not much Nagisa enjoys more than solving a mystery.

**

When Saturday rolls around again, Nagisa is ready. He’s dressed appropriately for work – suit trousers, white shirt and a fitted waistcoat – but he’s also wearing his lucky cake-print underwear and his new pink shoes. He usually brushes his hair over one eye for work (it makes him look more grown-up which stops new security guards from interrupting his games to question if he’s old enough to be in the casino) but he fluffed it up especially after his shower and now he can’t stop combing his fingers through it. 

It’s _crazy_ because he’s had plenty of big crushes before but he’s never felt a desperation just to know someone hit him like a punch in the stomach, he’s never felt this giddy and breathless just from thinking about a stranger whose name he doesn’t even know.

He waits impatiently fidgeting until half way through the show when the man on stage _finally_ asks for someone from the audience to help him out, just like he did the week before. Nagisa is the first in the room to wave his arms in the air and yell out “ME!” 

The man frowns and leans closer to his microphone. “Are there any volunteers that won’t breach their employment contract by assisting me?”

“It’s fine!” Nagisa shouts.

He vaults right over the bar and this time he doesn’t even knock anything to the floor. A few people in the audience clap. He’s a little out of breath when he makes it to the stage but that doesn’t stop him from bouncing up and down from his heels to his toes again and again.

“I’m Nagisa,” he announces with a grin.

Their eyes meet and the magician sucks in a short sharp breath and looks away. Nagisa bobs his head around in a desperate attempt to make eye contact again but he can’t break through his cold professional gaze.

“Stand still please,” the man says, like it’s _that easy_ , like Nagisa isn’t about to burst from all the nervous excitement bubbling inside his chest.

He starts explaining something to the audience but Nagisa is far too busy staring to listen. He wonders how long it takes him to style his hair that way and is it stage make-up that causes his skin to _glow_ like that or does he wake up looking that perfect every morning? The magician looked great from far away but up close he’s magnificent, he literally sparkles. There’s a tiny gold butterfly embroidered on his jacket pocket and it’s probably the cutest thing Nagisa has ever seen (and he lives surrounded by pictures of tiny fluffy animals).

The man clears his throat loudly.

Nagisa stares at him blankly.

“I’ll repeat the question,” the man says. “I asked if you have a precious possession on you. Perhaps a phone or an expensive watch, maybe a rare photograph of your late grandmother?”

“Ah,” Nagisa pulls a battered pink phone from his pocket. Their eyes meet again and there’s a crazy flutter of butterflies in his stomach. “Will this do?”

 “May I see it?”

“If you want my number just ask,” Nagisa grins.

The audience laugh… and then they gasp. The magician crushes the phone in hand and shatters the screen with a loud uncomfortable _crack_! He holds it up for everyone to see.

Nagisa’s mouth drops open. “D-did you just break my phone?”

“How careless of me,” he smirks and then with a single movement of his white-gloved hand it looks better than it did before. “Please confirm that it’s working correctly.” He hands it back, eyes twinkling with satisfaction.

“Give me your number and I’ll call you and make sure,” Nagisa suggests.

The man scoffs. _It was worth a try_ , Nagisa thinks, pressing a few buttons.

“Whoa, it’s perfect!” he gasps. “You’re like really magical _,_ aren’t you?”

“It’s not magic,” the magician murmurs, so quiet that no one else can hear, so close that Nagisa shudders as his hot breath tickles his ear. “I’m just taking advantage of the impressionable nature of the human brain.”

Then he leaps back, hands shuffling cards so fast that it’s almost a dance.

“Pick a card,” he says, giving Nagisa a minute to decide, “and prepare to be captivated when I say with certainty that you’ve selected the two of hearts!”

He’s right, of course he’s right, and then he holds onto his glasses and twirls and his cards are on fire and Nagisa is about to melt like an ice cream on a summer’s day.

It’s over too soon.

The man bows and thanks him and that’s it, they’re done and it’s not fair, Nagisa wants to ask him at least thirty questions and see him smile and touch his arms and maybe lick his mouth. The magician makes a grand hand gesture for Nagisa to leave the stage so Nagisa does the only thing he can think of – he grabs a black hat with a red ribbon from the table of props, throws it on his head and skips down from the stage.

It’s lucky that the performer is perfectly professional, that he wipes the frown from his face quickly and carries on like it’s all part of the show. _Very lucky_ , Nagisa thinks as he flashes him a toothy grin from behind the bar.

 

The man slinks off into the shadows after his performance finishes but Nagisa is certain that he’ll be back and when he is Nagisa will say something charming and funny and find out his name and phone number and take him upstairs to meet Haru and the others and if he doesn’t show… he’ll keep the hat – it looks good on him and he just knows that if he waits long enough a bunny will crawl out of it.

After the last customer leaves he relights the candles that have burnt out and changes the music to a soft jazz CD and then he waits. He’s in the middle off a game of throwing sweets in the air and trying to catch them in his mouth, when a smooth voice says, “I’ll have my hat back please.”

Nagisa whirls around and blurts out, “HI!” A sweet bounces off his nose.

The magician stands at the edge of the bar with his eyes narrowed and his arms folded. “Good evening. I believe you have something that belongs to me.”

“Ah this thing?” Nagisa says, leaping up to sit on the bar, still wearing the hat. “We worked really well together up there, didn’t we?”

“I have no interest in making small talk,” the man says, his lips pressed together in a tight thin line. “I’ve specified exactly why I’m here,”

“You can have it back,” Nagisa says, leaning back on his elbows, “but what are you going to give me for it?”

The man frowns. “Are you attempting to blackmail me for my own personal property? That hat might appear to be a simple accessory to you but it belonged to my magnificent older brother and it plays a vital role in my performance. I insist that you hand it over right now _._ ” He takes a step closer to Nagisa then hesitates, like he’s too polite to snatch it off of his head. “You’re acting incredibly rude.”

 “Oh,” Nagisa says. He didn’t even _think_. He holds out his half-empty box of sweets. “Take as many as you want,” he offers, smiling sweetly.

The man sighs so hard that his whole body slumps forward. “I don’t understand. What could you possibly want from me?”

“I want to know your secrets,” Nagisa says. He extends his leg and taps his pink shoe against the taller man’s hip, watches his whole body tense, watches his face twist into a blend of horror and embarrassment.

“I don’t plan to reveal anything to you.” The man snaps. “While initially I didn’t intend to practice the arts, I found this particular blend of showmanship and suggestion too impressive to ignore. I took the time to master theories of illusion and Psychology and if you think I’m going to share the details with you just because you asked nicely then…”

“What’s your name?” Nagisa interrupts.

He sighs out, “Ryugazaki.”

“I’ll need to know your full name if we’re going to be friends,” Nagisa says, kicking his legs.

“ _Friends?”_ He laughs, short and bitter. “I don’t even know you. _”_

Nagisa sits up straight, pulling his legs underneath him. “I’m happy to keep this,” he smiles, touching the hat. “It suits me right?”

“...Ryugazaki Rei,” he says through gritted teeth.

Nagisa smiles so big his nose crinkles. “Wow, that’s a _really_ pretty name! Like I said, I’m Nagisa.”

He leaps off the bar, uses Rei’s shoulders to push up onto his toes and transfers the hat back to its owner, lingering close enough to notice Rei’s silver ear piercing, close enough to make his striking violet eyes dart nervously around the room. “You should hire me as your assistant.”

Rei stumbles backwards and trips over his own feet.

“I’m _serious,”_ Nagisa insists, steadying Rei with a hand on his arm. _“_ We’d be amazing together. Just imagine, you’ll be all alluring and smart and I’ll be cute and funny. We could sell out a place ten times bigger than this!”

Rei opens and closes his mouth, adjusts his glasses and clears his throat three times before saying no.

“Don’t be like that, think about it. I’m only small, you can hide me in a box! Or maybe feed me to lion! OH, we can have our own TV show!”

“I refuse. The two of us together… a TV show… nonsense! I think you’ll find that I have no problem achieving maximum beauty as a solo performer and,” he takes a loud breath, “if I needed a permanent assistant – which I do not! – my extensive research suggests a female would be more popular with my target audience.”

“But-”

Rei holds up a hand. “I have to go.”

“I’ll let you saw me in half, just put me back together again, okay?” Nagisa calls out as he starts to walk away. “Wait! Rei, don’t you want my number? You’ll come see me next week, won’t you?”

Rei waves one hand over his shoulder and disappears through a door that Nagisa didn’t know existed. He pauses patiently for a whole twenty seconds then races after him but he’s disappeared, it’s a dead end (just what he expected from his mysterious new friend!) It doesn’t darken his mood one bit – now Rei is a real person with a real name and not some unreachable superstar and it feels like he’s crushing on the boy that sits next to him in class rather than his thirty year old married History teacher. Nagisa skips up the stairs to meet his friends, swinging his arms and humming under his breath.

**

The next week creeps by so slowly – Nagisa spends his dull shifts sneaking upstairs to distract his friends and collapsing across empty tables with dramatic love-struck sighs. He looks for Rei everywhere – on the train, in the hotel pool before work, when he’s buying dinner at the convenience store. Wouldn’t it be _perfect_ if they just happened to bump into each other somewhere, if their eyes met as they both reached for the last tube of toothpaste on the shelf? If only it was that easy.

Some nights Nagisa is so excited that it takes him over ten minutes to fall asleep. When he dreams it's Rei, drifting through clouds towards his casino table and then he’s _on_ the table, legs spread just enough that Nagisa wakes up excited and distracted and only just makes it to work on time for another miserable day at work.

 On Thursday he’s sitting in the staff room and Rin points out that it’s the fourth time he’s mentioned Rei in twenty minutes and he sounds like a loser and can he just _stop_ already? Nagisa throws half of his melon bread at Rin’s head but he’s nice enough to fling it back so Nagisa can finish eating it.

On Saturday Nagisa arrives at work early for the first time in his life. He seats his accomplice on the closest table to the stage and promises Gou (who he filled in on everything) and her friend Hana unlimited free drinks for the night. He throws in a picture-heavy book about male sports stars that he _accidentally_ stole from the school library when he first started taking an interest in other guys. Gou deserves it.

“I see what you mean,” Gou says, waving her empty glass across the bar about ten minutes into the show and looking all sparkly. “Enviable muscles, remarkable bone structure... His next trick should be making all those clothes disappear.”

“Gou!” Nagisa says, looking scandalised.

She shoots him a look, like she genuinely believes if she scowls hard enough Nagisa will suddenly start calling her Kou. “Honestly Nagisa! Don’t try and tell me you sent me on this ‘mission’ so that you can write poetry and bake cakes with him.”

“I _like_ cake,” Nagisa says, chaotically splashing alcohol into two glasses.

Gou takes a sip and her face is so priceless that Nagisa howls with laughter and gets shushed by an elderly lady on a nearby table.

“What’s in this drink” Gou asks, after she’s stopped coughing.

“It’s a Nagisa special.” She looks unimpressed. “It’s free!”

She shrugs and takes another drink. “By the way, since I’m working so hard to help you out…”

“Yessss?”

“I need tickets for Tuesday night’s show.”

“Tuesday night?” Nagisa echoes, crinkling his nose in distaste. “Why would you want to go see that weird male dance troupe?”

“No particular reason.” Gou says, looking away with a blissful sigh. “Make it happen.”

“Complete your mission and I’ll see what I can do. Now go sit down, hurry,” Nagisa says, nudging her shoulder. “It’s almost time.”

When Rei asks for a member of the audience to assist him, Gou leaps straight to her feet. He _did_ say he’d prefer a female assistant.

“Yes, the enthusiast young lady in the front row,” Rei says.

As Gou wobbles her way up to the stage, Nagisa wonders if he might have made her drinks a little too strong. No, he _definitely_ made the drinks too strong, he thinks when she announces that her name is Kou and promptly starts feeling up Rei’s bicep.

It’s all going well until Gou vanishes and reappears from a small black box. She climbs out and throws her hands triumphantly in the air and Nagisa’s letter (the one written on the pink-heart paper that he stole from his sister years ago, the one with his phone number underlined 4 times, the one she was supposed to slip into Rei’s pocket!) flies out of her hand and off the stage. Nagisa’s whole body deflates onto the bar because how could that go wrong? It was such a good plan! He makes animated gestures for Gou to do something _, anything_ but then it’s all over. He sighs in defeat as Gou offers her hand out and Rei shakes it politely and then he looks horrified, just for a moment. Gou bounces off the stage to the back of the room throws one of Rei’s soft white gloves at Nagisa.

“You – you genius!” Nagisa says, squeezing her shoulders in delight because there’s a bar in the way of giving her the huge hug she deserves. “You’re the best!"

She winks. “Well you said it worked for you last time. I’ll need at least two tickets please.”

“Gou, I’ll get you 20. Thank you!”

He slides the glove on his left hand – it’s warm and too big. The next time he notices Rei glancing towards the back of the room, he waves his hand above his head. It starts to feel like Rei’s glancing in Nagisa’s direction whenever he gets the chance but it’s hard to tell under the stage lights. Nagisa keeps the glove on for the rest of the show.

**

Rei appears minutes after the last customer leaves and stands in the middle of the room.

“Let me guess, this time you want me to trade my birthdate and blood type for my own possessions?” he says, hands firmly planted on his hips.

“Rei, hi! Great show tonight,” Nagisa says, rushing across the room to stand right next to him. “If you tell me your birthday, I promise I won’t forget it!”

Rei squints at Nagisa’s face like he’s staring directly into the sun.

“I’ve been thinking about you,” Rei starts. He winces when Nagisa’s face lights up. “N-no, not like… what I _mean_ is I’ve been thinking about your unusual interest in my belongings. The only logical conclusion I could reach is that you’re a rival act out to steal the illusions I’ve spent years mastering.”

“Lies!” Nagisa protests. “I’m just trying to get you to talk to me.”

Rei pushes at his glasses. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I just love your show, like _really_ love it!” Nagisa says. “You’re so amazing!”

Rei’s face softens. “Well, my performance can be quite dazzling…”

“I want to be your friend. I want to know everything about you.” Nagisa puts a hand on Rei’s arm and looks straight up into his eyes. “Will you show me your dressing room?”

Rei recoils and blushes so hard that Nagisa wonders if he said something wrong, if seeing someone’s dressing room is code for going at it on a pool table in the entertainment world.

“…I’m just here to get my glove back,” Rei says.

“I’ll swap it for your phone number,” Nagisa suggests.

“I don’t even know you,” Rei’s says, mouth twisting into a frown.

Nagisa stands up as tall as he can. “I’m Hazuki Nagisa, 21 years old but everyone thinks I’m younger. I’ve worked here for over a year, I normally work upstairs in the casino and I’m really good at it. We have to wear suits and they kind of remind me of penguins – I _really_ love penguins. All my friends work here – oh! You should definitely meet everyone, you’ll love them. Mm, what else? Ah! I’m stuck working down here for a while but I think it must be fate or something. I mean, I got to meet you, right?”

“What are you saying?” Rei mutters, eyes darting around behind his glasses.

“Did I say something wrong? Nagisa asks.

“You’re just,” Rei sighs, “...unbelievable.”

“Thanks!” Nagisa says and he studies Rei’s left hand, the one without the glove that he’s using to hide his face with.

“You have really nice hands. They’re kind of huge.”

“I… can give you my manicurist’s card… if you’re interested,” Rei mumbles.

Nagisa bites his lip because that’s adorable, that’s absolutely adorable. He pulls the glove from his pocket and slides the soft white material onto Rei’s hand, taking the time to run his fingers over the smooth skin that tenses beneath his touch. Nagisa glances up and catches him staring. Rei turns his head so fast that his neck clicks and he mutters, “ouch.”

“ _There_. Your glove. Now you know I’m not a spy.” Nagisa smiles. “So I guess you’re free to go but I’d really love it if you stayed and talked to me.”

Rei mutters under his breath and Nagisa can practically see his head spinning. He looks like he’s minutes away from pulling out a book and reading up on human socialisation.

“There’s a gap in my knowledge here,” Rei says, finally. “Clear something up for me. Was that your girlfriend earlier? The… bicep feeler?”

Nagisa giggles because _bicep feeler._ “Ehhh? Gou? No way! She’s not my type. Want to know what my type is?”

Rei gulps and looks away, suddenly taking a great interested in an old painting hanging on the wall.

“My type is tall, intelligent, mysterious, beautiful…” Nagisa steps forward with every word and Rei steps away until he’s backed up against the wall. They’re not touching but they’re close, so close. “That kind of person really makes my heart beat fast, you know?”

Rei inhales sharply but he doesn’t break eye contact. The lights are dim, Rei smells amazing and his breath is short and hot on Nagisa’s face. There's something heavy in the air, it's strange and electric and it makes the whole world disappear except for Rei and his bright violet eyes. Nagisa thinks they might kiss, it feels like they're going to kiss, until Rei suddenly takes a huge step to the side and squeaks, "I have to go."

Nagisa doesn't want to scare Rei away forever. Sure, he’s a genius stage performer with a ton of bravado but there’s something delicate about him, like he’s probably better at making conversation with textbooks than other human beings. Nagisa likes that about Rei, he actually probably likes everything about Rei, and even if they can't share an amazing kiss, he still wants to be his friend.

He knows he has to do something, so he shouts, “Wait, don't go, let me show you something. A magic trick! A beautiful illusion! _”_

Rei stops side stepping and slides his eyes cautiously towards Nagisa.

“Um, watch this,” Nagisa says, rushing over to the bar. He pours a shot of whisky and shot of water, covers the water with a playing card he finds in his pocket and turns it upside down so the glasses are stacked one on top of the other. He shoots a grin at and Rei then pulls the card away a bit. “Ta da! Just wait, they're going to magically swap places.”

“Simple chemistry,” Rei says, unimpressed.

 “How about _this_ one?” Nagisa says. He pours another shot of water, covers the top with a small piece of paper and flips it upside down. The water stays in the glass, held in place by the paper, he doesn’t spill a single drop.

Rei stands up taller and slips into work mode. “I never considered the possibilities of working with water.”

“Haru taught me!” Nagisa says proudly. 

“I could devise something more impressive,” Rei says, looking thoughtful.

“I could do some water magic in our show." Nagisa waves his hands like he’s casting a spell. “Come over to my place sometime, I’ll teach you some tricks.”

Rei snorts. “You’ll teach _me_?”

 “I’m really good with my hands,” Nagisa says, and he doesn’t _exactly_ mean to make it sound so suggestive.

“You’re really good at keeping me awake,” Rei says, making a show of looking at his watch. “Talking to you is ruining my sleep schedule. Do you know how unforgiving stage lighting is? It illuminates every flaw and I have a show tomorrow so it’s extremely important that I leave right now and get some rest.”

“You’ll come see me next week, won’t you?” Nagisa asks hopefully.

Rei looks exasperated. “Do you know how much chaos you’ve caused since you barged your way into my life?”

“But you will come see me?” Nagisa makes his best attempt at fluttering his eyelashes.  

“If you promise not to steal any more of my possessions then… I’ll think about it. We might be able to talk. Professionally. Regarding illusions. And no, this doesn’t mean you’re in my show, stop pulling that face, those sparkly eyes won’t get you anywhere.” He spins dramatically and starts to stride away.

“See you next time, Rei! Sleep well!” Nagisa waves to his back.

Later that night when Nagisa kicks off his work trousers, a sleek black business card falls out of his pocket and slides across the floor. Under Rei’s professional details, there’s a phone number handwritten in silver. Nagisa gasps, he’s so thrilled that he throws his hands into a victory pose and yells. He doesn’t care that it’s two in the morning, he doesn’t care that he’s a tragic cliché, he flops back onto his bed and rolls from side to side bubbling with laughter. _Rei, you're so sneaky,_ he thinks to himself. _Just you wait until next time._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please forgive me any inaccuracies and ugly typos. next part just needs an edit so it should probably be up soon, if you're interested


	2. magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagisa makes a phone call, goes on a date, suffers through a bunch of almosts and then magic happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi wow thank you so much everyone who has given me beautiful feedback, it really means a lot!
> 
> so sorry about the delay I genuinely thought this was finished but then I accidentally wrote an extra 2000 words, please enjoy the sly rating change and be warned that it’s all cheese from here

Some people tiptoe around shyly dropping subtle hints about what they want but Nagisa has always thought his method of just charging in and being honest works so much better. Sunday is his day off and he’s actually out of bed in time to see daylight and staring thoughtfully at his phone because he’s got Rei’s number and while charging in and being honest are great skills to have, if he’s too honest (like, _can I feed you dessert and suck you off?_ honest) then Rei’s going to run away faster than Nagisa can shuffle cards. With the encouragement of a singing banana on TV, he finally types out a message.

_HI REI so happy u left me ur number! meet me for a drink tomorrow? we can talk about magic and stuff!_

_btw its me nagisa!!!_ he adds two minutes later.

It’s 30 minutes before he receives a reply ( _exactly_ 30 minutes, like Rei was sitting there with a timer or something).

_Good afternoon. I’m extremely busy this week but as I mentioned, I might see you after work on Saturday. I’ll come to you, please don’t steal anything! Ryugazaki Rei_

 

On Monday he sits in the bar and shares a drink with a back-up dancer in heavy stage make-up instead and, after a free glass of wine and some light insincere flirting, she’s happy to share everything she knows. Nagisa nods along as she whines about how Rei _totally_ gets special treatment because he’s hardly even work here but he gets this huge private dressing room while everyone else is stuck sharing, and does anyone understand how hard it is to fight four other dancers for one mirror?

Nagisa wants to point out that the magician probably gets “special treatment” because he sells more tickets in one night that everyone else does in a week, but he’s hoping for good gossip so he takes the sympathetic approach.

“That sounds awful,” he says, with a gentle pat on her hand. “I know how you feel. I grew up fighting with three sisters and two parents for _one bathroom!_ ” 

“Also,” she says, waving her glass and spraying drops of wine onto the tablecloth, “don’t you think he’s really cold? Like I – m-my friend tried asking him out him out and he was all,” she mimes pushing up glasses, “‘ _I don’t have time for relationships_.’ And even when we showed up at the restaurant…”

“What restaurant?” Nagisa asks.

“Oh, he works at this super fancy restaurant sometimes. He’s really popular,” she sighs, twirling a shiny strand of black hair around her finger. “So anyway we showed up and asked for him to come perform for our table…”

Nagisa thinks it’s crazy that Rei works in so many different places around the city because people should be coming to _him._ He should have a skyscraper with his face on the front, his own TV show and an international book deal.

“Don’t you think that’s so completely stupid?!” She finishes, looking outraged.

“Totally. _Absolutely_.” Nagisa nods enthusiastically, though he missed out on half of her story. “Hey, tell me more about this restaurant?”

**

Tuesday night’s storm is so heavy that the sky looks like it’s about to collapse and it's like living in the opening scene of a movie about the apocalypse. Nao is out with his girlfriend and Nagisa is stuck inside staring out of his rain speckled fourth floor window, watching the unlucky strangers who are stuck outside as they run for cover. It’s only September and the weather is already gloomy and awful. Summer is officially over.

It’s lonely. The Matsuokas are still at work, Mako’s probably hiding under a blanket with Haru somewhere and Nagisa’s parents are off travelling _again._

The business card on his desk catches Nagisa’s eye and he decides to call the number, just to see what happens because _why not?_  It’s just after 11 so Rei is probably finishing a show or maybe he’s already tucked up in bed, wearing silk pyjamas and a frilly eye mask. Nagisa’s not expecting anything, he’s _definitely_ not expecting a "hello?" after exactly three rings.

“Hello Rei? It’s me Nagisa! I just…” he stops to think, “I just wanted to say hi.” Rei is silent. “What you doing?”

“I was just about to go to sleep,” Rei says and his voice _is_ kind of cute and drowsy.

“Great, then you’re not busy,” Nagisa says, flopping back onto his bed and wriggling around to get comfy. “Soooo what do you want to talk about?”

“You called me,” Rei points out.

“I guess I did,” Nagisa giggles.

“If you don’t have a reason calling then…”

“I do! I have an important question!” Nagisa says. “Umm I was wondering… how do you do that thing with the cards and the fire without burning down the building? I think it would add an extra layer of excitement if I could do that when I’m allowed back in the casino.”

“That’s classified information. Far too dangerous for amateurs to attempt,” Rei says sternly.

“Hmm, then where do people go when you make them disappear?”

“ _Classified_.”

“That’s kinda mean,” Nagisa pouts, like Rei can see him. “Then how about… what’s with your weird stage name?”

“That I _can_ tell you.” Rei says, his voice suddenly loud and proud.  “It’s a beautiful play on words of course! In English, a _spectacle_ is a visually striking performance while _spectacles_ are a pair of glasses!”

“Ahh, I get it!”

“Isn’t it perfectly suited to my visually striking, glasses-wearing performance?” Rei says and a burst of satisfied laughter booms down the phone.

Nagisa rolls onto his front and kicks his legs, listening to Rei appreciate his own intellect for a while.

He sounds younger when he laughs like that, so Nagisa interrupts and asks, “how old are you anyway?” 

“20 years old,” Rei replies.

“No way!” Nagisa gasps. “You’re younger than me? I thought you were way older than Haru. Rei, that’s really cute _._ You’re like a baby compared to me.”

“I most certainly am not,” Rei huffs, sounding even younger.

Nagisa rolls delightedly onto his back. “Are you working at the restaurant tomorrow?”

“T-the restaurant? Are you stalking me?”

“Nope. But I would like to see you soon.”

Rei sighs. “Please stop bothering me at work.” 

“But what if I happen to show up as a customer and it’s a total coincidence, then you’ll have to perform for me, won’t you?”

“That’s technically true, but I’d be very busy. We wouldn’t have any time to talk.”

“I’d be happy just watching you,” Nagisa says, snuggling down under his covers.

After a long pause, Rei asks, “ _Why_?”

“Because you’ve cast a spell on me?” Nagisa suggests.

“I don’t cast spells,” Rei snaps, sounding offended.

“It feels like one though,” Nagisa babbles excitedly. “Like my heart got captured by your enchantments and now there’s a magical spell pulling me towards you and I just can’t stay away no matter how hard I try.”

The line is silent and all Nagisa can hear is the harsh smack of rain against his bedroom window. After a while he says, “Rei?”

“You do talk nonsense, Nagisa. You’re completely impossible to keep up with.” Rei sighs and suddenly his voice is softer, so quiet that it’s almost a whisper, “and yet somehow, against all reason, you’ve been on my mind.”

His words are a rush of warmth in Nagisa’s chest, a tingle that spreads over his skin and makes him squirm down into his mattress. Normally he’d react somehow – giggle, yell, babble, _anything_ – but this time he lets it linger, listens to the rain and Rei’s breathing.

They don't say anything else until Rei murmurs “sleep well” and Nagisa replies, "sweet dreams, Rei".

He falls asleep replaying the gentle way that Rei said his name for the first time.

**

Nagisa knows he’d be stupid to pass up the chance to see Rei at restaurant since he was basically invited and anyway, it’s on his way home from work (with a slight ten minute detour.) Mako is on an early 7pm finish too and he offers to join Nagisa for dinner out of the goodness of his big, kind heart (or maybe because Nagisa goes on and on about how sad it is to return to a lonely convenience store special after a hard day’s work).

When they step into the restaurant, it smells so amazing that Nagisa’s stomach grumbles loudly before the door has even closed behind them. It’s the type of grown-up place that Nagisa usually avoids with a piano player and classy white table cloths and bright sparkling lights. It’s a wonderful change from the dingy basement bar and they’re lucky enough to get a table for two right by the window. Nagisa falls into a dark wood chair and spots Rei in a cute red bowtie performing to a big family on the other side of the restaurant. He notices Nagisa waving frantically and raises his hand in a half-wave, which he styles out as a sassy _ta-da!_ when the customers at his table notice.

The menu is a _little_ out of Nagisa's price range, but everything sounds amazing so he orders about three times as much food as Makoto and asks the waiter to send the magician over to their table as soon as possible. He chats to his friend about his favourite customers, because he genuinely misses some of the regulars that swing through the door every single day, blindly optimistic that tonight’s the night they’re finally going to get lucky and win. He’s in the middle of praising Mako for how huge his arm muscles have got since he started working out at the hotel gym because seriously, they're impressive, when Rei politely asks if they’d mind if he entertains them while they wait for their food.

“Please!” Nagisa chirps.

“That sounds great,” Makoto says.

Rei turns to Mako, looks him briefly up and down before turning back to Nagisa with a genuine pout on his face.

“Ah, Rei, this is Mako. Mako, meet Rei, the magical guy I told you about!”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Makoto says with a warm smile.

“I don’t go by the name at work,” Rei says, adjusting his already perfect bowtie with a blank expression. “Please allow me to perform for you both on this… _special occasion_.”

He switches into magic mode and starts to perform sleight of hand tricks with sharp, stiff movements. His performance is impressive but Rei isn’t swelling with pride like he usually does when he astonishes people, he barely even twitches when Makoto gasps and Nagisa claps. It's all wrong, it's like Rei’s lost his sparkle. He's so cold that it makes Nagisa’s chest ache, like Nagisa’s just another stranger, like they didn’t talk softly until they fell asleep together the night before.

Rei shoots a not-so-subtle glare in Mako’s direction when he thinks no one’s looking and it’s almost like they’re deadly enemies, except they’ve clearly never met before because everyone knows it’s physically impossible to dislike Mako if you talk to him for more than 30 seconds.

The whole performance is tense. Nagisa starts to think that bringing his very tall, very attractive friend to dine with him at a classy restaurant late at night while they’re still dressed in their work suits _might_ just be giving Rei the wrong impression.  

The waiter appears with their food and Nagisa almost sobs in relief.

“Want some?” he asks, pushing his bowl towards Rei’s face because _anyone_ would be grumpy if they had to watch people eat expensive food all day and never get anything for themselves.

“No thank you,” Rei says flatly. “Please enjoy your meal.” He bows and moves on to the next table.

“Is everything okay?” Makoto asks, when Rei’s gone.

“I don’t understand,” Nagisa says, as miserable as someone with a mouthful of delicious food can be. “That was so weird. Wasn’t that weird?”

Makoto nods. “Do you think we did something to upset him?” 

“It’s fine,” Nagisa says, eyeing up Rei as he brings his charming smile back out for a table of middle aged women. “Let’s just enjoy our food.”

"Sure, let's eat," Makoto says, but he still looks kind of worried.

 

Rei disappears in a boring, non-fabulous way while they’re waiting for dessert. Nagisa finds him in the small public bathroom staring into the mirror with anxious eyes. He leaps backwards and pretends that he’s in the middle of washing his hands when he notices that he has company.

“What’s wrong?” Nagisa asks, tilting his head to the side.

“Nothing. Everything’s fine,” Rei says. “Although,” he adds, vigorously shaking his hands over the sink, “when you enquired about my restaurant work, I didn’t know you were planning a date.”

“Ehh?” Nagisa frowns.

“I do hope you and that giant gentleman are having a _wonderful_ time,” Rei continues, pulling out a handkerchief and rubbing at his hands. “He’s an unmistakable match to the description of your idea type. Congratulations. I can only hope you’ll be too pre-occupied to chase around after me now.”

“Rei, you don’t get it,” Nagisa starts to protest.

 Rei cuts him off with a single hand gesture and it feels like a door slams shut in Nagisa’s face.

“I do get it. This was all one big misunderstanding. I’m rarely incorrect but I clearly got the wrong impression with this one and now… now I look like a fool.” Rei says. He just stands there frowning, arms folded so tightly that Nagisa can see that all his muscles are tensed beneath his thin white shirt. “Enjoy your date,” he adds, taking a step towards the door.

Nagisa slides in front of him to stop him leaving, scrunches up his hands in determination and says, “I’m not exactly sure what you’re thinking but if it’s Mako then he’s just a friend and if I haven’t convinced you that I'm interested by now then let me make it really  _really_  obvious. I like you, maybe even more than I've ever liked _anyone_ which probably sounds crazy but I’m kind of crazy about you.”

Nagisa’s heart pounds stupidly in his chest. Rei’s mouth pops open and he visibly relaxes, his whole body looks softer and they’re gravitating closer together at the very same moment that the door swings open, whacks Nagisa painfully in the back and sends him stumbling into Rei’s arms.

“R-Ryugazaki,” the young man in the waiter’s uniform stammers, looking slightly horrified because Nagisa is pressed against Rei’s chest with a possible back injury and okay, maybe he did shout that last part kind of loudly. “S-sorry to bother you but the manager’s looking everywhere for you.”

“Of course,” Rei exclaims, untangling himself from Nagisa. “I sincerely apologise for causing trouble. I’ll be right there!”

The waiter nods and rushes away without a single apology for almost breaking Nagisa’s back. He leaves them alone with the sound of dripping water and the faint smell of bleach.

“I’d like to talk to you on Saturday,” Rei says, brushing his fingertips lightly across Nagisa’s cheek, so brief that they’re gone before he can appreciate that they were ever there. “I acted very rudely. Please apologise to your friend on my behalf,” he says and then he's gone too.

“Sure,” says Nagisa, getting wet elbows as he accidentally sighs into a nearby sink, “Saturday.”

**

When Rei strides out into the light on Saturday night his sparkle is back and it’s as bright as a thousand shining stars. His waistcoat is buttoned up tight, but he’s swapped his usual white shirt for a pale blue one, ditched the bowtie and gloves _and_ left the top two buttons of his shirt _wide open_.

His routine hasn’t changed much but there’s something different about him. He glides across the stage like he’s dancing, voice animated, lips twisted into a confident smirk. His new poses are so flamboyant that for one moment it looks like he’s going to fall flat on his face but he recovers smoothly, flapping his arms in time with his pretty white bird on his shoulder. The audience are clapping along, eating it up like Rei’s show is the most delicious delicacy in the world and Nagisa feels dizzy in a good way, in a _really_ good way.

Rei turns up after the show when the last customer leaves, as promised, without any persuasion or interference by Nagisa.

“YOU’RE HERE!” Nagisa yells as he bounces over at rapid speed to the door Rei appeared from.

“You’re noisy,” Rei says. “Yes, I’m here.”

“I missed you!” Nagisa throws his arms around Rei from behind and locks him in a cuddle-nuzzle combo that not even a slippery soaking wet Haru can escape from.

“You only saw me a few days ago,” Rei says stiffly.

Sudden inspiration strikes when Nagisa notices they’re facing a dusty old mirror that probably hasn’t been cleaned for years. Nagisa tugs Rei’s arms behind his back and pushes closer so they’re trapped against his own belly, then he slides his own arms under Rei’s and in front of both of their bodies.

“What are you doing?” Rei asks, and Nagisa waggles a finger sternly. He peeps around the side of Rei into the mirror and it’s perfect, it genuinely looks like Nagisa's arms are Rei’s (if you ignore the size and the different coloured shirts like the minor details they are).

“Rei, you sure like dancing,” Nagisa sing-songs, sending his arms flying around in enthusiastic moves and shimmying his hips against Rei’s, twice as fast as the slow jazzy music that’s playing in the bar.

“S-stop that,” Rei says, catching one of Nagisa’s wrists in his hand when he’s right in the middle of dancing the robot. Just that small touch sparks like a static shock.

Suddenly they’re still and Nagisa can’t focus on anything but the freshly laundered smell of Rei’s waistcoat and his firm ass pressed back against him. He pushes closer and Rei pulls away and Nagisa's worried for a split second that everything gone wrong, but then Rei’s in front of him, gaze so heated and intense that it makes Nagisa’s skin prickle and his mouth dry. For the first time, he’s the one that’s forced to break eye contact.

“We can add that routine to our show,” Nagisa suggests. There's a lump in his throat so his words come out less confident than he planned.

“I wouldn’t dream of adding something so tacky to my show,” Rei snorts.

“Your show was _wonderful_ , you know” Nagisa says sincerely. “Tonight was the best I’ve ever seen it.”

Rei just smiles and it’s so warm, so soft, so not like anything Nagisa’s expecting. One of his hands finds Nagisa’s hip and his fingers are so gentle, like Nagisa’s something fragile that might break if he presses too hard.

“This whole situation is completely inappropriate,” Rei hisses, as his other hand sneaks around Nagisa’s back to play with the button on the back of his waistcoat.

“But you do like me?” Nagisa asks blunty, looping his arms around Rei’s neck.

“I’ve come across a lot of people in my line of work. Talented, interesting, spectacular performers,” Rei says. “None of them were quite as bothersome and determined and enchanting as you.”

Nagisa’s language slips away and suddenly he's not sure if he wants to leap up and wrap his legs around Rei’s hips and find out if he’s as strong as he looks or bury his face in his hands and blush like crazy. A small nervous giggle escapes his mouth.

“We could be fired instantly,” Rei says, taking a step back, putting space between them. “I’ve spent my whole career trying to keep my personal life a secret and this – this would destroy everything. We have to act rationally, even if we’re up against the force of attraction and soft jazz and unmistakably romantic mood lighting, we have to act _responsibly_.”

Nagisa nods, trailing his fingers across Rei’s cheeks and down his neck.

“We have to…” Rei starts.

He’s so clever and he’s talking so much sense but Nagisa doesn’t really _do_ patience at the best of times.

“ _Rei_ ,” Nagisa purrs.

“ _Nagisa,”_ Rei warns.

Nagisa feels like he’s spent half of his short life being told off for being too loud and pushy and messy but he’s never heard anyone sound so reprimanding and so aroused at the same time until now. 

“Kiss me,” Nagisa says, because all he wants to do is lick that worried frown off Rei’s pretty face. “Take me to your dressing room, push me down in the middle of the casino, I don’t care, just... _please_.”

Rei winces like he’s actually in pain. He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes and he says, “Take me on a date first.”  

“Ehh?”

Rei stands up straighter, like he’s gaining confidence in his own proposal. “We’ll meet outside of work, far from prying eyes and advanced security systems. Let's do things properly.”

Nagisa groans. “I’m happy you want to go on a date, but,” he lowers his voice in a perfect impression of Rei, “’ _doing things properly’_? That’s so boring!”

“I assure you, there’ll be nothing boring about our date. You’ll be captivated,” Rei says, with his hands on his hips. “How about Tuesday?”

“How about now?” 

“Everywhere worth going will be closed.”

“Then come upstairs and play cards with us?” Nagisa tries.

Rei shakes his head. “There's nothing beautiful about gambling.”

“I have friends working on the reception desk. We could steal a room key, talk in private?” Nagisa suggests, wiggling his eyebrows, because he’s desperate and he really honestly doesn’t care.  

Rei kisses Nagisa’s hand and it’s the softest, sweetest, most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened.

“Be patient, Nagisa,” Rei says and who knew it was possible for him to actually pull off looking mischievous? “I’ll see you soon.”

**

Nagisa manages to get the whole of Tuesday off, and he steps out of the shower in the afternoon and starts scrutinising every item of clothing he’s even bought or borrowed, trying to find something cute (but _sexy_ -cute, not _little-kid_ -cute). He knows he has this amazing shirt somewhere but an organised wardrobe isn’t really his thing, most days he feels lucky if he can find a matching pair of socks. He wants to look nice but also casual, noticeably different to how he looks in his work uniform and it’s suddenly all so complicated that he’s almost tempted to call up his most-fashionable, least-annoying sister for advice but he’s not _that_ desperate.

When he’s ready he's got his hair flipped over one eye again and he’s wearing a black t-shirt with a tasty-looking strawberry in the middle with tight yellow jeans, sort of channelling a bumblebee which is ideal because bees are cute and fuzzy but also wild and dangerous. He steps on a cute star shaped earring on his way to the bathroom and decides to wear that too (after he’s done hopping around cursing at it because it’s really sharp and it _really hurt_ ).

He sends a quick selfie to Gou for her opinion before he leaves, because he trusts her judgement on boys more than anyone else in the world.

“ _Perfect for poetry and cake!_ ” she messages back with a huge winking emoticon and _please Gou, subtlety_. He translates her message to  _any hot magician would throw themselves at your feet,_ grabs his nicest red jacket and heads out.

 

The evening starts when Nagisa rushes through the ticket barriers at the station near the casino. (“The most sensible meeting point,” Rei had insisted. “Our common variable”). He catches sight of the magician standing near a wall with perfect posture, ignoring everything except the book in his hand. Nagisa grins and charges ahead waving both hands over his head yelling Rei’s name.

“Good evening Nagisa,” Rei says, only closing his book when Nagisa is standing right in front of him.

“Hi!” Nagisa smiles brightly.

He pulls Rei into a hug and holds him in a tight grip until he starts to squirm and protest about his inability to breathe. Nagisa does let him go eventually, but only so he can admire the faint butterfly print on the purple button-up shirt he’s wearing under his jacket It’s the first time Nagisa's seen Rei in daylight and the sunset is casting the nicest glow on his face to celebrate the occasion. He’s _gorgeous._

 “You look different,” Nagisa says and Rei frowns. “In a good way I mean! I love this shirt.” He pushes Rei’s jacket open and traces his finger around the outline of a butterfly on his chest.

“Thank you,” Rei says, flushing with pride. “Most people don’t notice the contrasting detail.”

He reaches an empty hand behind Nagisa’s ear and pulls out a pretty pink flower.

“For you,” he says and Nagisa can tell from that twitch at the corner of lips that he knows just how good he is.

Nagisa plays right into Rei's neatly manicured hand, giggling stupidly as he tucks the flower into his hair. It’s only then that he realises how hard he’s going to have to work if he wants to out-charm a magician. 

They’re right in the middle of the entertainment district so they could probably wander in just about any direction and find somewhere worth going, but Rei announces that he has a plan and he’s taking them out for dinner. They walk through the busy city, Rei checking his phone every now and then, frowning in concentration. When they arrive at the entrance to the skyscraper building, their mouths drop open at the same time. They stand gawping at photographs of fifteen pretty men in suits on the glossy sign outside the building.

“Wow, Rei,” Nagisa says, after a moment of stunned silence. “I’ve been to some weird places but this is the first time I’ve been taken on a date to a host club.”

“No, that’s – no! This can’t be right!” Rei panics, scrolling on his phone. “My manager recommended an esteemed and classy top-floor establishment with a beautiful view of the city at night. I prepared a map, I don’t understand how, oh. _Oh._ ” He hides his face behind his hand, mortified. “Their names are so similar I must have… led us to the wrong one...”  

Rei apologises again and again, mumbling under his breath and throwing his body around in poses of despair. Nagisa tries to reassure him but he’s laughing so hard that he can’t talk, he can’t even stand up straight. When they’re taking deep heaving breaths and just about calm enough to hold a conversation, Nagisa grabs Rei’s hand.

“Don’t worry,” he says, “I know the perfect place. Leave it to me!”

“But my itinerary. My _reservation_!” Rei gasps.

“If you’re worried we can go find your restaurant. I just hope we won’t get in too much trouble when we show up so late.”

“L-late?”

“I’m sure they won’t be _that_ heartbroken. I mean everyone will stare at us when we walk in but you can just explain what happened, can’t you?”

Rei looks horrified. “On second thought, perhaps we should dine somewhere else to avoid the shame. I do have a reputation to uphold…”

“If you insist!”

“I’ll just call them to apologise…”

“No time for that. This way, this way!” Nagisa shouts, grabbing Rei’s hand and charging ahead.

They head back in the direction they came from. It's Nagisa’s turn to impress when he drags Rei through the door of his favourite restaurant, the one that he eats at with his friends every single pay-day.

“Magnificent,” Rei says with wide eyes.

He’s not wrong. With fish swimming in tanks on every wall, moody blue lighting and a soundtrack of relaxing ocean noises, it almost feels like you’re dining underwater. Nagisa can’t do magic, but he’s pretty sure the chefs here can because their seafood is the absolute _best_.

They slide into a booth in the corner of the restaurant. It’s a big table (Nagisa has sat with five friends around the same table) but they sit so close that their knees touch. Nagisa leans forward and almost knocks the seashell-shaped candle over. Rei’s eyes stop chasing the multi-coloured fish in the tank on the wall and lock on Nagisa. He's been on dire dates before and he's wasted time wasted chasing the wrong people, but with Rei, everything feels right. They sit and talk, with a little bit awkwardness and a lot of excitement and it finally feels like everything’s falling into place.

**

“Thanks for sharing your dessert,” Nagisa says, rubbing his full stomach when they step out of the restaurant. “It was so tasty!”

They start walking down the dark street without any mention of where they're actually going. Nagisa links his arm through Rei’s because there’s a cold breeze, it’d be inconsiderate to not share body heat.

“I didn’t exactly have a choice,” Rei protests. “I returned from using the bathroom to find half of it missing!”

“I was just checking it was good enough for the extraordinary Spectacle Illusionist!” Nagisa grins.

“I don’t believe that for a second,” Rei says. “Thankfully I’m not that fond of dessert.”

“Are you serious?” Nagisa stops in the middle of the street to pout. “You don’t like dessert? I thought we were friends...”

“I prefer to eat foods with a high nutritional value. I _am_ a stage performer, you know. It takes effort to maintain this physique,” Rei says, chest puffed out like he might be about to start flexing.

“Mm, well it seems to be working.” Nagisa says, squeezing the top of Rei’s arm. “I’m happy to help you out by eating your desserts from now on!”

Rei clears his throat and shoots Nagisa an embarrassed look, like maybe the middle of the street isn’t the right place to be sparkling like Gou.

“Are we heading towards the casino?” Nagisa asks when he starts to feel a prickling restlessness under his skin because they’re on that familiar street he walks down every day to get to work.  

“Correct,” Rei says, with a push of his glasses. “Since we’ve already diverted from my itinerary, I thought I might satisfy your curiosity.”

They enter the hotel through a back door with a card key (totally unfair, Nagisa doesn’t have a card key) and they head down a dim staircase. Nagisa’s heart is pounding because there’s no one else around and it totally feels like the build-up to the last scene in an action movie and he’s sure that any minute now Rei is going to announce that he’s actually a spy sent to seduce him, who accidentally fell in love against all odds and –

Rei unlocks a secret door and steps into his dressing room.

It’s bigger than Nagisa expected and faintly lit even with all the lights on because there aren’t any windows (of course not, it’s the basement). There are strange props on every shelf, books crammed wherever they’ll fit and a neat rail of flashy suits.  There’s a large dressing table with a huge mirror and a shelf lined with magic potions organised in height order (which are probably actually beauty products).

Rei lights a tall candle in the corner of the room. Upstairs, the casino is buzzing but down here it’s eerily silent. Their eyes meet and it’s suffocating.

“This place is amazing, Rei” Nagisa breathes, resisting the urge to throw himself onto the long red sofa in the corner. “How are you allowed this all to yourself?”

“My impressive show, of course,” Rei smirks. “And my older brother performed here several years ago, before the ballroom was converted into a casino. This was his dressing room.”

“Your brother did magic too?”

“ _Illusions_ ,” Rei corrects. “And he still does. Right now he’s working overseas.”

“Whoa!” Nagisa says, making a mental note to look him up online later.

“He’s almost as good as me,” Rei smirks and takes a seat on the sofa, crossing one leg over the other.

Nagisa spins an old brass globe that sits on a low shelf.

“I don’t bring just anyone down here,” Rei says. “Only people I can trust with my secrets. **”**

Nagisa nods but he can’t decide whether to snoop around the room to find Rei’s secrets or crawl into his lap and taste them on his lips. He also kind of wants to stay hidden in the corner of the room, poking at the empty birdcage and hiding his rosy cheeks because he’s been living for this moment for what feels like forever and now it’s finally happening he’s kind of worried about tragically screwing it up.  

When he turns, Rei shyly pats the space beside him. Nagisa takes a breath and takes a seat. Rei opens his mouth and looks dazed when he can’t make big powerful words come tumbling out, while Nagisa who finds it so natural to touch people, Nagisa who has touched Rei all evening, struggles just to reach out his hand.

They sit staring at their feet.

“Let’s summarise” Rei says eventually, his strangled voice breaking the silence. “You talked my ear off all evening, asked for my number in front of a crowd, stole my hat without a hint of remorse… your job usually involves watching people gamble away their life savings, and yet… you appear to be so very nervous right now.”

“What about you?” Nagisa shoots back, hiding his face in his hands, though he can't work out _why_. “You perform to a crowd every night and you’re all…” he nods at Rei’s trembling hand.

“Right,” Rei murmurs and clears his throat.  

“Shall we just…” Nagisa says, bravely reaching out and letting his fingers dance across Rei’s cheek.

“Okay,” Rei says, pink tongue sweeping out across his dry lips.

They lean in until their noses bump and Nagisa feels a soft hot breath on his lips and then they’re finally touching, though it's so shuddering and shy that it's hardly counts. Rei kisses Nagisa so softly like he’s precious, like he’s breakable and it makes Nagisa’s chest ache all over.

Nagisa presses closer and turns the soft flutters against his lips into a sweet clumsy kiss. He runs his fingers over Rei’s smooth jaw and pretends he’s calm, he's casual, he’s kissed boys before, it’s not like this is anything new. He wishes someone would tell that to his stupid heart because it’s the opposite of calm, pounding so fast that it feels like it's about to burst.

It’s all soft and wonderful but Nagisa’s neck is twisted uncomfortably to the side and there’s too much distance between them so he climbs into Rei’s lap and winds his legs around the back of his hips and that’s better, that’s _much better_ , Nagisa’s an amazing kisser, _he’s got this_.

“M’so happy,” Nagisa smiles against Rei’s lips.

“Mm,” Rei agrees thoughtfully.

He makes the same encouraging noise when Nagisa glides his tongue over his lips. Rei slides a daring hand under Nagisa’s shirt and Nagisa arches into his touch, shivering from just the trace of fingertips on his spine.

“I guess it's private show tonight,” Nagisa smirks and lets Rei dip him backwards, just a little.

“You’re extremely privileged,” Rei says and attempts to smoothly slip out of his spotless white shoes. After a minute he gives up kicking his feet against each other and curves his body awkwardly to the side to untie the laces. “S-sorry.”

“Don’t worry,” Nagisa giggles and resumes licking inside Rei’s soft mouth.

Nagisa kicks off his own pink shoes nudges Rei backwards until they’re laid flat, Nagisa on top, hips aligned perfectly. Rei keeps pushing Nagisa’s hair back every time it falls into his eyes, like he can’t stand the thought of it hiding his face and it’s so sweet that Nagisa can barely stand it.

Nagisa’s dying to just move his hips and grind shamelessly against Rei but he doesn’t want to rush, he wants to take his time. He draws back with a shaky exhale and curses the fact that he's always being held back by boring things like breathing. It _does_ gives Nagisa chance to appreciate Rei lying panting on the sofa, chest desperately rising and falling, cheeks flushed, teeth grazing lightly over his bottom lip. His legs part and he’s hard, grey trousers tight over those amazing thighs. A thrill shoots low in Nagisa’s stomach as he finally _finally_ appreciates that he’s going to see Rei _naked._

“This time I’m going to steal your shirt,” Nagisa says, leaning down.

He’s unfastens the delicate buttons with care and attention that he’s never shown his own clothes, not even once. When he pushes open the pretty shirt he discovers that Rei’s upper body is more amazing than anything he imagined. His skin is tight and tan and with those defined muscles, he’s _definitely_ an athlete. Nagisa really wants to run his tongue along that chest but instead he stands up and wiggles out of his own clothes in a playful dance, until he’s completely naked and feeling kind of small and skinny in comparison because no matter how much he swims, he just can’t build muscle like that.  

All that stuff slips straight from his mind when Rei appears next to him and trails his hands over Nagisa’s exposed skin, whispering that he’s beautiful against his neck. Nagisa’s a little bit used to people eyeing him up like he’s some kind of sex bomb that’s about to explode but never this, he can’t remember anyone ever looking at him so fondly before.  

The sound of Rei’s belt unbuckling makes Nagisa's stomach twist into knots. Nagisa helps him out, pushing at his trousers until Rei’s standing in front of him, naked and dripping and hard.

“Please don’t stare at me like that,” Rei says, folding his arms across his chest self-consciously, like _that’s_ where Nagisa’s looking.

“But you’re perfect,” Nagisa smiles and watches the Rei melt.

Nagisa slides up against Rei’s hot skin and pushes their lips together again. It’s an effort to stay up on the tips of his toes, even with Rei’s hands gripping his ass to help, so Nagisa drops backwards onto the sofa and drags Rei with him, ignoring their accidental head bump and how much the cold red leather makes him shiver. The heat radiating from Rei’s soft skin heats him up fast enough.

“What do you want to do to me?” Nagisa whispers against Rei’s ear. He feels so greedy, because he wants to be inside Rei, wants to take him in his mouth, wants to ride him until he comes – it doesn’t matter what, he doesn’t care, he’ll do anything as long as they’re touching.

“I was thinking more like,” Rei says, sitting up to straddle Nagisa, “what you might do to me.”

Nagisa’s sort of outraged because how is it possible for him to look so courteous when he’s grinding his ass down on Nagisa’s cock like that?

“Are you saying you want me to… f-fuck you?” Nagisa asks, wincing at the completely uncool tremble in his voice.

“Yes,” Rei says, rolling his hips once again for confirmation, making Nagisa’s whole body throb. “If that suits you.”

Nagisa nods enthusiastically. That _definitely_ suits him.

“So, we might need some stuff…” Nagisa says, looking around the room for his bag because he knows stashed some supplies, for an _emergency_ , it’s not like he’s been carrying them around waiting for the first opportunity to lure Rei out of his pants or anything.  

“Check the bottom drawer of my dressing table,” Rei says.

“Rei, were you planning this?” Nagisa grins, rolling out from under him.

“It’s always best to be prepared,” Rei says.

“You’re right.” Nagisa says when he’s found what he’s looking for. “Turn over.”

When Rei’s lying on his front, Nagisa presses his index finger against Rei’s lips and watches his long dark eyelashes flutter closed as he sucks it into his mouth. He glides his hands over Rei’s muscular back and down his spine, slicks up his fingers with lube and spreads Rei open. He teases one finger over his entrance again and again and then gently _gently_ slips inside. Nagisa’s takes his time, stretching Rei out until he’s writhing and shuddering, until he’s grinding his hips down against the sofa.

He keeps going when Rei hisses, “ _Nagisa”,_ keeps going when he whimpers _“please”_ , he fingers Rei until he flips himself over tells Nagisa to lie on his back in that hypnotic voice he uses on stage to persuade people to believe impossible things.

Nagisa’s touches himself a little as he rolls down a condom and he’s so fired up, so fucking electrified that it’s almost impossible to force his hand away until it’s suddenly really easy because there’s Rei, straddling him again, brows creased in concentration as he guides his hips to the right position.

Rei’s squeezes his eyes shut and he hisses out a sharp breath through gritted teeth as he starts to sink down slowly. Nagisa rubs Rei’s thighs and back reassuringly when the pain hits, _take it slowly, remember to breathe,_ he’d say it out loud but it’s so hot and tight that he’s barely breathing himself.

“R-relax,” Nagisa huffs because he’s just not getting it. Rei nods or tremors, maybe both.

Then he does get it and he’s all the way in, hands shaking and spread across Nagisa’s belly, fingernails digging in just a little. Rei opens his eyes and their gaze meets and it’s _electric_.

“You ok?” Nagisa asks, and god he really needs to move, but he won’t until he’s sure Rei’s ready, so he just holds his breath and gawks in fascination at the place where their bodies are connected.

“Yes,” Rei says with a shaky nod.

“You’re amazing, you – _ahh_ – you really made it disappear,” Nagisa gasps out with a grin.

Rei rolls his eyes and pushes down so hard that Nagisa forgets how to speak. It’s a thrill, watching Rei’s thighs tremble as he moves, so slow it’s almost tender, twisting his hips like Nagisa’s an important experiment and the objective is to take his cock as deep as he can.

When Nagisa was a curious young man thinking of boys he’d like to fuck he didn’t dream big enough, he never imagined a stunning blue-haired magician with crooked glasses riding him, mouth parted, back arched, amazing abs tensed but now he’s got it, he wonders how he ever thought he wanted anything else. He might just have to keep Rei forever because now he’s sure nothing will ever feel as good, nothing will ever be the same.

Nagisa bites his lip and rolls his hips, catches Rei by surprise when he grabs his cock and starts to stroke in time with their thrusts. Nagisa’s mouth feels empty so he pulls Rei down and crushes their lips together. It’s so good it almost hurts but they struggle to find a rhythm.

“Not quite right,” Rei mutters, frustrated when he slips out again. He sits up and tugs off his practically fogged-up glasses.

He yelps when Nagisa impatiently nudges him onto his back and there he is, all messy and sweaty with pink-flushed skin, toned legs pulled up against his panting chest. Nagisa’s heart’s hammers so fast that he might be about to die but god, at least he’ll die happy.

“You’re really flexible,” Nagisa appreciates, leaning in, trailing one hand up the inside of Rei’s thigh over the soft hair and the hard muscles.

“High school track team,” Rei boasts, “I stretch… ahh!” He jolts when Nagisa rubs circles at the top of his thigh, at the sensitive skin near his cock, “e-every day.”

Rei makes the most delicious sound when Nagisa enters him again suddenly and all at once. Nagisa huffs short breaths near the pulse of Rei's long neck as he moves inside him slow at first and then faster, wilder. He finds a sensitive spot on his neck and kisses it again and again because Rei keeps arching his back up every time he does, taking Nagisa’s cock so deep that it almost hurts. Nagisa sucks harder and hopes that Rei has a fabulous collection of scarves somewhere because he might just need one next time before he can step on stage again.  

Rei’s fingernails scrape down Nagisa’s back and he groans out, “Nagis-ah-ah- _ahhh_ ” as they move together, all pants and moans and sweaty sticky skin against the sofa, against each other. All Nagisa can manage is short breaths in Rei’s ear, tiny exhales that catch in the back of his throat every time he moves.  

“Rei, you’re _magic_ ,” Nagisa gasps out when it’s all too much and Rei whimpers eloquently in response and wraps his arms tighter around Nagisa’s back like he’s trying to get closer but they can’t, they can’t get any closer.

Nagisa genuinely feels magic tingling everywhere their bodies touch, feels it radiating from under his skin, feels it twist in his stomach and then tense and tense and _snap_. He feels magic surge through his entire body as he shudders and comes, thrusting into Rei so hard that all they can manage is desperate grunts and gasps against each other’s mouths _._

When he can move, Nagisa slides out. When he can breathe, he shimmies down Rei’s body, licks at the head of his cock once, twice, then takes as much as he can into his mouth in one dirty, wet suck. Rei spreads his legs wider and pushes his hips up off the sofa, hand clasped across his mouth but not quite quick enough to muffle the enticing high-pitched whine that falls from his lips.

“N-Nagisa,” he chokes out and his eyes are unfocused, he probably can’t see much without his glasses but Nagisa keeps his eyes locked on Rei anyway because he doesn’t dare to close them miss the way that Rei looks when he falls apart. Nagisa slides his mouth up and down, one hand spread across Rei’s tense abs, the other wrapped around base of his cock because he can’t fit it all in his mouth. All it takes is a few deep sucks, a few skilful swirls of his tongue and Rei's done, trembling hands tugging at Nagisa’s hair, the room bursting with the needy cries he can’t bite back as Nagisa swallows the bitter warmth that fills the back of his throat.

Nagisa wipes his mouth after, flops down on top of Rei and presses his swollen lips against his cheek. The only sound is their heavy breathing and Nagisa wants to chase away the silence with something what do you say after _that?_ Rei’s staring intensely at a spot on the wall. Nagisa flips his hair out of his eyes and prods Rei’s cheek until he turns.

“Hi,” he whispers, meeting Rei’s uncertain eyes with a warm smile.

Rei smiles back, one hand trailing down to rub over Nagisa’s hipbone. He sighs and says, “I hope these walls are soundproof.”

 

Nagisa lies with his head in Rei’s lap, using an old red cape he found as a blanket because it’s getting chilly but he doesn’t want to get dressed, then he won’t be able to feel Rei’s soft sticky skin cool against his own. Rei looks so relaxed, sitting up on the couch with his head leaning back against the wall and his eyes closed.  

“Hey, you know how we’re really synchronised?” Nagisa says and Rei’s eyes open. “How about we really make our magic show happen?”

“You were serious about that?” Rei asks, fingers tangled gently in Nagisa’s hair. “I assumed that you were just using it as an excuse to entice me.”

Nagisa doesn’t want to admit that he kind of was. “No but just imagine… _‘and now my assistant Nagisa will charm you all as beautifully as he charmed me.’”_

“Is that a joke?” Rei frowns.

“I think it would be so much fun,” Nagisa says in his sweetest voice, nuzzling the back of his head into Rei’s thigh.

“Do you know how inappropriate that would be, working so closely with someone I’ve fallen for, with my own boyfrien-” Rei clasps a hand over his mouth with a horrified squeak.

“R-Rei, did you just…” Nagisa stammers and it’s so stupid, that ten minutes they were going at it but no, forget that, it’s a couple of innocent words that makes them blush like stupid teenagers.

“You misheard me,” Rei says. “It’d be inconsiderate of me to just assume without asking… n-not the mention the fact that this is our first date and… oh god, this is only our first date."

“Rei, Rei, _Rei!!”_ Nagisa sings, sitting up and throwing his arms around his neck. “I’m so happy. I’m really so happy that I met you.”

Rei murmurs something that sounds like “me too” into Nagisa’s hair.

“Come on,” Nagisa says, leaning back so they’re face to face. “I’m taking you to meet my friends right now!”

“We should probably acquire some clothing first,” Rei advises.

“Mm, maybe you should shower too,” Nagisa says, sniffing the air like a dog.

“Nagisa,” Rei frowns, patting down his sweaty hair self-consciously. “I can’t help but be tainted by the natural fragrances of intercourse.”

“ _The natural fragrances of…_ oh my god,” Nagisa snorts. “I can’t believe I used to think you were cool,” and Rei’s deeply offended expression just makes him laugh louder.

**

“This way!” Nagisa yells, almost two weeks later, pushing Haru through the door of the bar downstairs and hoping everyone else is still following. He waves at the unhappy looking girl on the bar because as of last week, Nagisa is allowed back in the casino and officially no longer a threat to security. He _will_ miss watching Rei’s Saturday night shows but now he can turn up to any of his performances without being wrongly accused of being a stalker, and he sort of has his own private magician anyway. (Rei seems to like doing things like taking a regular coin and spinning it in the air and handing it back to Nagisa with a little image of a penguin printed on the back and frankly, it’s adorable.)

Nagisa might have got a little teary-eyed when his friends threw him the sweetest little welcome back party in the break room and also somehow – amazingly – Nagisa managed to sweet-talk Goro into letting them all off work for a few hours on the busiest night of the week, using his unique blend of Nagisa-nagging and a long and complicated story about the importance of the deep historical link between stage magic and casino dealers. (Goro probably agreed to get him to shut up in the end, but Nagisa is absolutely fine with that).

He bounces down into a chair at the round table nearest to the stage with the homemade reserved sign he put their earlier, shuffling up so that Mako, Haru and Gou can squeeze around it too. Rin made a noble sacrifice so that everyone else could watch the show (or, more accurately, he called Rei's stage name "fucking stupid", flat out refused to join them and got stuck upstairs covering for everyone). He'll meet Rei after the show though, Nagisa will make sure of it. 

“Nagisa, why did you drag me down here?” Haru asks when they're all cosy.

“To be amazed!” Nagisa booms.

“He _is_ impressive,” Gou says and Mako agrees.

“ _Really_ impressive!” Nagisa says, slamming his hand down so hard on the table that their drinks wobble. “And sitting here at the front is so much more exciting because there’s added danger, like will we get set on fire or-”

“Fire?!” Makoto panics.

“Don’t worry Mako, we’ll probably survive and if we do you can _finally_ meet Rei properly, he’s _such_ an interesting guy.” Honestly, Nagisa meant to introduce everyone sooner but it’s way too easy to get _distracted_ around Rei. His body heats up just thinking about it. _  
_

“Are you blushing?” Gou asks, looking at Nagisa in disbelief like he’s suddenly grown an extra head.

“He’s blushing,” Haru confirms.

“Show’s starting!” Nagisa shouts to distract them all and maintain his reputation as Nagisa, the man who feels no shame. 

He feels pride bubble in his chest as Rei strides out into the spotlights. He sneaks glances at his friends almost as often as he looks at the stage, keeping track of them to make sure that they’re appropriately dazzled and awestruck.

When Rei says, “I’m going to need some help with this illusion,” Nagisa is about to volunteer Haru or Mako because either one of them is sure to be hilarious, but instead he nods down at the front row and asks, “would you care to assist me with this one, Nagisa?”

His jaw drops. They haven’t practiced anything and just the thought of Rei who plans out his show down the last second being spontaneous makes Nagisa sure that he must be daydreaming.

Rei raises his eyebrows in a questioning, “ _well?_ ” and Nagisa realises that he’s wide awake and Rei’s waiting, so he leaps to his feet so clumsily that his chair falls backwards and runs to the stage, pure joy rushing through his veins because nothing compares to the thrill he gets from standing close to Rei and making magic.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for being lovely, I always like to hear what you think!!
> 
> I am a pathetic person who basically only uses [tumblr](http://nagireigisa.tumblr.com/) to reblog nagirei at the moment but yknow feel free to join me
> 
> on an unrelated note please pity me I wrote 80% of this fanfic with this horribly embarrassing 90s [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVBIfSt0lAo) stuck in my head


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